Holiday traffic back to Beijing down significantly at end of travel season
From CNN’s Steven Jiang in Beijing
Pedestrians wearing masks walk along a road in Beijing on Sunday. Photo by WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images
Though China's Lunar New Year holiday has drawn to a close, many have not returned to major cities as the Wuhan coronavirus spreads throughout the country.
Considered the largest human migration on the planet, Chunyun -- the 40-day period when Chinese people head home to celebrate the Lunar New Year with their families -- officially began on January 10 and will end on February 18. Authorities had previously estimated that 3 billion journeys would take place.
In Beijing, however, it appears many people have chosen not to return.
Rong Jun, the deputy commissioner of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transportation, said that train and flight bookings for inbound travel to the Chinese capital had dropped over 70% year-on-year for the coming days, though did not specify a time frame.
Travel in and out of Beijing dropped more than 60% during the Lunar New Year period of January 24-30, compared to the same time last year, and there appears to be a continued decrease on inbound traffic in the coming days, according to the Beijing city government.
Many regions across China are still under travel restrictions and the Beijing city government has delayed the re-opening schools and non-essential businesses to prevent the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.
11:50 p.m. ET, February 2, 2020
Wuhan coronavirus has spread to 27 countries and territories outside of mainland China
There are now at least 179 confirmed cases of Wuhan coronavirus in 27 countries and territories outside mainland China, with Sweden and Spain reporting those country's first cases over the weekend.
Only one person has died outside of mainland China from the virus -- a 44-year-old Chinese man in the Philippines.
Outcasts in their own country, the people of Wuhan are the unwanted faces of China's coronavirus outbreak
From CNN's Nectar Gan in Hong Kong
A woman wears a face mask as a man sits by the roadside on Friday in Wuhan, China.
In China, Wuhan used to be known as a city of cherry blossoms, an economic engine of the central heartland, and the birthplace of a century-old revolution that brought down the country's last imperial dynasty.
But now, the metropolis of approximately 11 million people in Hubei province has become the face of a deadly new coronavirus outbreak -- a stigma the people of Wuhan increasingly find themselves unable to shake off.
Wuhan officials estimate about 5 million people had left the city for the annual Lunar New Year holiday before authorities canceled all outbound flights, trains and buses in an unprecedented lockdown on January 23.
Many of them are migrant workers or university students returning to their hometowns for new year family reunions. Others are holidaymakers taking advantage of the long annual break.
The Shanghai stock market opened today for the first time after the Lunar New Year holiday, giving investors their first chance to react to the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus on China's largest domestic stock exchange.
The results aren't pretty. As of 12:15 p.m. in China, the Shanghai composite was down more than 8% on Monday and more than 10% year-to-date.
"We despise such a move": China slams German magazine cover
From CNN's James Griffiths
Chinese diplomats have condemned another European media outlet for its handling of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.
In a statement over the weekend, the Chinese Embassy in Germany criticized Der Spiegel over its Saturday front page "Coronavirus: Made in China." The headline was accompanied by a photo of a man in a red poncho with a gas mask on.
"Releasing such a picture does nothing to the outbreak, but only causes panic, mutual blaming and even (racial) discrimination. We despise such a move," the embassy said, according to state media.
"The embassy said global challenges need to be addressed globally, and that German media shares the same responsibility as everyone."
This row comes after Chinese officials in Denmark slammed newspaper Jyllands-Posten for a cartoon riffing on China's national flag, with coronavirus modules in place of stars.
In a statement published online, an embassy spokesperson said the drawing was "an insult to China and hurts the feelings of the Chinese people."
"Without any sympathy and empathy, it has crossed the bottom line of civilized society and the ethical boundary of free speech and offends human conscience. We express our strong indignation and demand that Jyllands-Posten and (cartoonist) Niels Bo Bojesen reproach themselves for their mistake and publicly apologize to the Chinese people," the statement added.
Jyllands-Posten editor Jacob Nybroe said in an article following the complaint: "We can't apologize for something we don't think is wrong. We have no intention of demeaning or mocking, nor do we think the drawing does ... As far as I can see, there are two different forms of cultural understanding here."
11:12 p.m. ET, February 2, 2020
President Trump's National Security Adviser says "there's no reason for Americans to panic" over the coronavirus
From CNN's Chandelis Duster in Washington
Robert O'Brien is seen in this file photograph from the 7th ASEAN-US Summit in Bangkok on November 4, 2019. Photo by LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP via Getty Images
US President Donald Trump's national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, on Sunday said that at this time "there's no reason for Americans to panic" about the Wuhan coronavirus.
"Right now, there's no reason for Americans to panic. This is something that is a low risk, we think, in the US," he said.
O'Brien also said the virus is a "top priority" for Trump and the administration is "taking steps to keep Americans safe."
The White House on Thursday announced a coronavirus task force that "will lead the Administration's efforts to monitor, contain, and mitigate the spread of the virus." It is lead by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and includes members from the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Homeland Security and others.
Xi Jinping is directing China's response to the virus. But he's been AWOL from news reports
Analysis by CNN's James Griffiths
Since he intervened in the Wuhan coronavirus crisis on January 22, ordering "all-out efforts" to contain its spread, Chinese President Xi Jinping has been personally directing the country's response.
As state media has repeatedly emphasized in recent days, all decision making has been centralized under the Communist Party's Standing Committee and the national State Council, both of which Xi heads. The military is also playing a major role in relief and containment efforts, under Xi's direction.
Xi's face may be missing from news reports, but state media is making sure everyone knows who is in charge.
But while his hand is purportedly being felt in all aspects of the response, Xi's face has been weirdly missing. He has not appeared on state broadcaster CCTV's main newscast or on the front page of the People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party, in several days.
This is strange not only because a country's leader is normally front and center during a crisis, but because Xi is rarely missing from front pages and TV broadcasts during normal periods. Under Xi's rule, the People's Daily has become notorious for running multiple headlines about Xi and plastering not only the front page but several after it with nearly identical pictures of him meeting various officials.
The December 4, 2015 front page of the People's Daily had 11 headlines mentioning Xi Jinping (习近平).
So what's behind Xi's recent absence? The internal workings of the Chinese Communist Party can be a black box at the best of times, but speculation has been rife that Xi is retreating from the spotlight in order to set up other officials to take the inevitable blame for a crisis that -- even if the government maintains control over it -- is already causing major economic and societal misery.
Officials in Wuhan are the most obvious fall guys for the crisis, and several have already offered to resign. But as the virus continues to spread across China and the world, they might not be a big enough scalp to allay public anger.
One figure who might be feeling nervous at the moment is Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Most analysts agree that Li has been majorly sidelined by Xi in recent years, stripped of many responsibilities and pushed into more of a ceremonial role. Yet he has suddenly been pushed to the fore of this crisis, helming a national response group and visiting Wuhan itself.
Chinese social media has been full of speculation over whether Li has been placed under quarantine since returning from the stricken city. That may turn out to be the least of his worries.
10:51 p.m. ET, February 2, 2020
Japan plans fourth evacuation flight from Wuhan
From CNN’s Emiko Jozuka and Yoko Wakatsuki in Tokyo
The second charter flight arranged to evacuate Japanese citizens from Wuhan lands at Haneda airport in Tokyo on January 30. STR/AFP/Getty Images
The Japanese government plans to send a fourth evacuation flight to Wuhan to collect about 140 people still in the city and nearby areas, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday.
Since the first evacuation flight arrived in Tokyo’s Haneda airport Wednesday, 565 Japanese citizens have returned to the country. The Japanese Embassy in China notified the remaining Japanese citizens of the evacuation plan by email Saturday, adding that Tokyo is still negotiating with Beijing to allow spouses with Chinese citizenship to join the fourth evacuation flight.
“We are putting in maximum efforts to make these speedy evacuations possible,” the Japanese Embassy said.
In Japan, coronavirus has infected a total of 20 people, with three returnees testing positive over the weekend. Among the confirmed cases is a man aged in his 30s who was diagnosed as a disease carrier without symptoms.
10:40 p.m. ET, February 2, 2020
More people have died in mainland China from Wuhan coronavirus than from SARS
The Wuhan coronavirus has killed more people inside mainland China than the coronavirus responsible for the SARS outbreak in 2003.
China's National Health Commission (NHC) reported the Wuhan outbreak was responsible for 361 deaths by the end of day Sunday. SARS killed 349 people in mainland China, according to the NHC.
